


The Shield's Successor

by TK_DuVeraun



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Glenn lives AU, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Roleswap AU, Sibling week, older Felix - younger Glenn AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24042694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TK_DuVeraun/pseuds/TK_DuVeraun
Summary: Sylvain didn't believe in love.Until he met the love of his life.Based on Casey's roleswap AU for sibling week.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 18
Kudos: 117





	The Shield's Successor

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this: [twitter link my dudes](https://twitter.com/eggyankee/status/1257890195258646528)
> 
> Less of a knight and more of a duke-in-training, Rodrigue leaves Felix behind to run Fraldarius as "training" while he accompanies Lambert and his family to Duscur.

For the first time in his life, Sylvain was tentatively willing to say he was happy. Sure, he’d  _ thought _ he’d been happy at many times, only to be disabused by torn fingernails or frostbite, but at the Officer’s Academy, he was more or less happy. His father’s arm wasn’t quite long enough to reach Garreg Mach and Sylvain’s plot to attend at the same time as the Crown Prince was going swimmingly. Sure, he had to waste a lot of time with random girls because his father’s eyes  _ did _ reach that far, but everything else was gravy.

If not for Dedue, whom Sylvain had charmed as much as the man could be charmed, Sylvain was Dimitri’s best friend, just very neatly squeezing out Ingrid who insisted on referring to him by title. Not that he’d been worried. The only real threat for a Blaiddyd’s best friend was a Fraldarius and with the Dukedom firmly settled on his older brother’s shoulders, Glenn was only interested in Dimitri as far as his super strength could be harnessed, which wasn’t very. Glenn was more interested in shaving the hairs off butterflies with his sword strikes, which would have been whimsical if he hadn’t managed to do it and instead was slightly terrifying.

Traditionally, well, traditionally after the vaunted tales of Kyphon and Loog, Gautier and Fraldarius were almost as close: together the backbone of the kingdom. But like most things in Sylvain’s life, Miklan ruined that before he was even born. Apparently, the now-Duke of Fraldarius, Felix, had visited Gautier as a child and been so offended by Miklan that his family refused to make any further social visits. There was even a rumor that Felix originally refused to let the Margrave attend his father’s funeral after the Tragedy of Duscur.

So Sylvain was passingly familiar with Glenn, as he was with Ashe, Annette and Mercedes. And Linhardt, who’d just joined their class because he was curious about the professor’s Crest and Glenn’s lack of Crest when his father, uncle and brother all had Crests, the last of which was major. He’d said something strange, like, “Did Felix suck up all of the Crest from your father’s bloodline?” A sentiment that was weird to think about and made Sylvain uncomfortable for several reasons.

Sylvain was stewing on those thoughts -- the professor was lecturing about the importance of proper riding posture -- when the class ended and Glenn sprinted out of the classroom like the professor had said the first one out would get a private sword lesson. Sylvain froze, standing next to Dimitri, both of them blinking after him.

“Do you think Glenn is unwell?”

Sylvain rubbed the back of his neck. “That was definitely not a ‘I’m gonna be sick’ run.”

Rather than speculate, Dedue did something productive and turned to ask the professor. “Professor, are you teaching a lecture this afternoon?”

Byleth looked up from his papers and rotated his neck to owlishly examine the classroom. When his gaze returned to them he didn’t so much as blink. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

Unsettled, as he always was by the professor, Sylvain was the first of their group to leave. When Dimitri joined him, he threw an arm casually over his shoulders. Dimitri was shockingly petite for his family, but he was only seventeen. “I don’t know why the professor has to be so weird about it.”

“While I would not phrase it so rudely, the professor certainly does have his own… methods. But I cannot say his teaching is ineffective.”

Sylvain ignored the implied chiding. “Well, Mitya, what do you, should we go find out what’s lit a fire under Fral-tiny-us?”

“Sylvain!”

“What?”

“Must I remind you that Fraldarius-”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. He never notices.”

Dimtiri laughed. “One day, Sylvain, you will find yourself at the end of his sword and then I doubt it will be so funny.”

Sylvain held his chin and made a show of considering it. “Yeah, he’s right at crotch-level, isn’t he?”

Dimitri was still bashfully fighting his laugh when they passed by the stables and heard Glenn’s voice. Arm still around Dimitri’s shoulders, Sylvain forced them to detour so he could see what had him so excited.

“-which I have to show you. So we should spar right now.” Glenn was speaking to a man in a formal, teal robe with white lining and Sylvain had never, once, in his life, hated Miklan more.

“I have to speak to the Archbishop first. It’s very important,” said the man, who had to be none other than the young duke, Felix Fraldarius. He gave Glenn a pat on the shoulder and an expression so soft Sylvain thought he was going to die on the spot. Ten minutes earlier, he hadn’t believed that true love existed, but in the span of two sentences Sylvain had fallen head over heels with the love of his life.

  
  
  
  



End file.
